Norsworthy Attends World Food Ceremony

During Oct. 16-19, I was able to go to Des Moines, Iowa, for the World Food Prize Global Youth Institute that is held in conjunction with the World Food Prize. The world food prize is an “international honor recognizing — without regard to race, religion, nationality, or political beliefs — the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world.”

I had to compete at the state level by writing a research paper and being in a round- table discussion about global food and health issues. Throughout this process, I developed a well-thought-out solution to solve rabies in India. Dogs are considered the main source of infections in all of the human rabies deaths. In India, about 15 million people are bitten by animals, mostly dogs, every year and need treatment (Rabies in India, 2008). “Roughly 36% of the world’s rabies deaths occur in India each year, most of those when children come in contact with infected dogs,” (India’s ongoing war against rabies, World Health Organization, 2009). “The Mission Rabies program has three aspects: vaccination, education and data gathering ( NY

Times, 2019).” Mission Rabies sends out teams to find and vaccinate street dogs. The teams work in a grid pattern so that they cover as much of the area as possible. In order to distinguish between the dogs that have been vaccinated from the ones that have not, all vaccinated dogs get a paint marking that lasts for about a week.

In my research paper, I had to keep India’s culture in mind, allowing me to realize that euthanasia was not an option based on religious beliefs. The intricate paper allowed me to be one of three students selected at the state level to attend the global institute to discuss my paper in Iowa with global leaders, students and chaperones. This four- day conference exposed me to leaders such as Félix Tshisekedi ( The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo), Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina (The President of the African Development Bank and the 2017 World Food Prize Laureate), and Simon Groot (2019 World Food Prize Laureate). Simon Groot talked about his global impact in Southeast Asia by empowering smallholder farmers with EastWest Seed, which allowed Groot to establish the first market-oriented vegetable seeds breeding company for these smallholder farmers. I will forever remember the advice and passion instilled in me to be a global fighter and solve global issues.